I have a collection of primarily horse-drawn farm equipment, which I’m restoring in Woodside, Calif. I would appreciate any information Farm Collector readers might have on the equipment. The sprayer was last used on the golf course at the Burlingame Country Club.
The markings noted on the plow parts are Champion, Norfolk, Va., Billup Sons & Company, patented 1876, S.R. Whites Sons Inc. What happened to Champion? What colors should it be?
The markings noted on the sprayer equipment are Bean Spray Pump Company, San Jose, Fresno, Lansing, Mich., Novo 30022, 1 1/2 hp, 475. We enjoy Farm Collector very much.
– Adolph Rosekrans 1045 Sansome St. San Francisco, CA 94111 (415)433-0963 e-mail: rosekrans@pacbell.net
Vintage Farmall M provided plenty of fun
When my husband was looking to buy a tractor for our six-acre ‘farm’ in 1980, he went down to the local tractor dealer and tried out several tractors. As we were leaving, he spied two Farmall M tractors in what I would call ‘the graveyard.’ He told me the M was the first tractor he had ever driven. ‘They were good old tractors,’ he said.
The next day I was at work and he called to let me know he had purchased a tractor. I asked him which one and he told me it was one of the Farmall Ms. ‘But they don’t even run,’ I said.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘the dealer promised me they would get one of them running, the tires fixed and put a hydraulic hitch and plow on the back, too.’
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. When I first saw that poor old tractor, it had two flat tires, no front tire, no exhaust pipe and it looked pretty sad.
About two weeks later, the tractor was delivered and did it ever run. I would bet if we still owned the tractor it would still be putting away in our yard. What fun my husband had with the tractor and all the old equipment he purchased for it. Indeed it was a real workhorse.
– Carol Wolf Britton Grayling, Mich. grandpabert@i2k.net
Looking for Garden Master information
I have a 1954 Garden Master garden tractor, Model JE. It has a 6-hp Wisconsin engine. I recently purchased the tractor, and the man I bought it from didn’t know very much about it. I have not been able to get any information about it, although I was able to determine the model year from information I read in a book on vintage garden tractors. If any readers can help me, I sure would appreciate it.
– Jerry Barnes 2373 N.C. 581 N. Pikeville, NC 27863
Can you help identify these items?
We have these items in the Hitchcock Museum. We were wondering if Farm Collector readers might be able to tell us what they are and what they were used for. They are both made of iron. The hand has a hinge on the backside with the number Y1656 on the hand and number Y1657 on the hinge.
The other item, you lift on the handle as it goes up. It is stamped with No. 1 and has a patent date of Aug. 7, 1867, Enterprise Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia. We enjoy your magazine very much.
– Ray and Rita Waldner Hitchcock Museum P.O. Box 5 Hitchcock, SD 57348 (605) 266-2769 e-mail: randr@venturecomm. net www. hitchcocksd. com
Recognize this shingle mill?
I would like to hear from anyone who has, or knows of, an antique shingle mill similar to the one pictured. S. Adams & Son of Rome, N.Y, manufactured this machine. It was acquired by our local club, and is a pile of rusty iron and rotted timbers.
I will be glad to share what information we have about the machine and company.
– Richard Lewis Allegheny Engine and Implement Association P.O. Box 2 Black Creek, NY 14714-0002 e-mail: dicksober@peoplepc. com
Name that movie
I have been trying to locate a movie about a man who traveled by garden tractor across the upper Midwest to visit his brother, who was dying. It won some sort of award at a film festival a while back. Can anyone help me with a title or any information helping me identify the film?
– Sheldon Lawrence 967 E. Lovegrass Drive Queen Creek, AZ 85242 e-mail: lawofhi@cs.com
Searching for leads on Rome mowers
I am searching for information on a Rome highway mower. It has an IHC 5-foot center-mount sickle mower (permanently cast to the tractor). The tractor has a Hercules IXA engine, a Lipe transmission, all casting part numbers start with a B and it doesn’t have a drawbar. The seat was stolen and replaced with an International seat.
I would appreciate any information on this tractor, its manufacturer and where it was built. Has anyone seen one of these tractors?
– Harold Eddy Route 2, Box 101 Slater, MO 65349
What was its function?
Enclosed is a gadget my father-in-law bought at a recent auction. He is clueless as to what it might be. It is obviously a cutter of some sort and whatever it cut required a thick, not razor-sharp, blade. It also cuts a piece out of the item being cut, in addition to making a clean cut.
– Clara Reinecke and Louis Reinecke Seneca, Kan. e-mail: careinecke@yahoo.com
Gloves with built-in shucking peg
In the October 2004 Farm Collector, ‘Let’s Talk Rusty Iron,’ you featured corn husking equipment. In some of my dad’s things I found a new pair of leather-lined mittens, at least 75 to 80 years old, with a built-in shucking peg. The thumbs of the mittens have metal studs in them. I thought they might be of interest to the readers.
The plier-type tool is a mystery. It has a wire-cutting slot in it and screw driver flat spot on one handle. Any help in identifying this item would be appreciated. I am 73 years old, and I really enjoy the magazine.
– Marvin C. Knoop 23690 Bashaw Trail Shell Lake, WI 54871
Follow-up
Farm Collector occasionally prints answers to readers’ questions when information is available from knowledgeable sources.
Letter from the September 2004 issue of Farm Collector.
I found this stove in the trees on a farm we bought in northwest Minnesota. It has a Sears, Roebuck & Company tag with Model no. 102-152 and stamped on the side is 140-11. Three legs are missing and it looks like some kind of kettle fits on top. Can anyone tell me what this stove was used for and the year it was made?
– Leonard Schmaltz 208 2nd St. N.W., Apt. 110 East Grand Forks, MN 56721 (218)681-8419
Answer 1:
Looks like the fire-pot of the stoves used to grace early depots. They were called ‘base burners.’ The body was somewhat egg-shaped, the part below was the ash receiver and it was fluted above, often with a stove lid. Why? As the upper part of the ‘egg’ had a door for inserting the coal, the chimney also rose from this top flare. They were usually vented straight up through the ceiling. These stoves usually sat toward the center of the room and passengers, etc., could stand all the way around the stove.
It was cold in the Rockies in the winter. Those stoves weren’t great for heating either. I’m a pre-World War II person and I’ve been in a lot of those depots, as the train was our only transportation.
– J.C. Antonia Thomas 880 N. Santiam Highway W. Gates, OR 97346
Answer 2:
I found this advertisement in a 1908 Sears catalog. It’s not the same, but very similar to Leonard Schmaltz’s.
– George L. Kritchen Box 1745 Cordova, AK 99574
Need rake manufacturer’s name
I have a Sulky dump hay rake I would like to restore, and would like to know who made it and what color it was. It measures 9 feet from wheel to wheel. It has cotter key lock nuts on the axles holding the wheels on and 53-inch diameter metal wheels. The slat brace is stamped with no. 5423A; the foot rake pedal, no. 5390A; dump pedal, no. 5425A; brace to frame, no. 7240A; and the axle dump cog, no. TB151A. The teeth have a pigtail spiral mounting hook that turns to the side.
Also, I purchased a 1951 T030 Ferguson tractor. It has a steering wheel I have never seen before, with a Kosch steering aid on it, Kosch Manufacturing, Columbus, Neb.
Thank you for any assistance any readers might be able to offer.
– jerry Lovell Rogers, Ark. sharjjcc@juno. com
